West Florida Men's Basketball 2009-10 Season Preview
Jonathan Jackson (Photo by Ron Besser)PENSACOLA, Fla. – A host of newcomers and first year Head Coach Bob Stinnett will look to lead the West Florida men’s basketball team back to prominence in the Gulf South Conference in 2009-10. The Argonauts lost all five starters and 10 of 14 letterwinners from last year’s team, but Coach Stinnett is striving to improve on the team’s 13-12 overall record and 5-7 GSC mark in 2008-09.
“Our ultimate goal is to make it back to the GSC Tournament,” said Stinnett. “We’ve battled some injuries in the preseason, and that will make it tough, but we’ve got some incredible talent on this team.”
Senior guard Jonathan Jackson (Pensacola, Fla./Johnson County CC) is the top active returning player, and he finished his first year at UWF in 2008-09 averaging 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while playing 15.3 minutes per contest. He will be joined in the backcourt by senior Maurice Thomas (Milton, Fla./Pensacola JC), who returns to the court after last playing in 2005-06. As a sophomore Thomas transferred to UWF from Pensacola Junior College for the 2004-05 season, and he was a major contributor for two years, averaging 9.5 points and grabbing 4.3 rebounds.
“Right now Maurice (Thomas) is our most consistent player, but he’s got to shake off some rust before the season gets started,” said Stinnett. “J.J. (Jonathan Jackson) and Maurice give us a great starting duo at the one and two spots.”
Junior Nate Johnson (Clearwater, Fla./St. Petersburg College) and redshirt freshman Jose Davila (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo HS) will return to the provide depth at the guard position in 2009-10. Johnson saw action in 12 games last year, scoring 23 points. Davila will be looking to get his first on-court action as a collegiate player.
Junior Tramell Wooten (Mount Vernon, Ga./Marion Military Institute) will be the newcomer in the Argonauts backcourt. Wooten played at Gulf Coast Community College in 2004-05 and transferred to the Marion Military Institute in 2005-06. Like Thomas, Wooten has had a few years off but expectations are high from Coach Stinnett.
“Tramell has had some injury troubles in the preseason,” explained Stinnett, “but when he’s back to 100 percent he will be an impact player for us. He will likely work his way into the starting lineup as the season goes on.”
Senior Max Hoggard (Micanopy, Fla./P.K. Yonge HS) is the only active returner from last season at the forward position. In three years at UWF Hoggard has scored 150 points, averaging just over seven minutes per game. Darryl McGhee (Defuniak Springs, Fla./Gulf Coast CC), the top returning scorer from 2008-09, will sit out this season as a redshirt. Finally, junior Ken Mitchell (Mobile, Ala./Alabama Southern CC) will return to see his first action on the court for the Argonauts after first coming to UWF in 2007-08. Mitchell has been out two years recovering from knee surgery, but he is projected to be in the starting lineup on opening day.
The frontcourt will be full of new faces in 2009-10. Christopher Evans (Fort Worth, Tex./Hawaii Pacific) transferred to UWF from Hawaii Pacific for his senior season, and he will look to be a consistent presence down low. He will be joined by junior college transfers Ervin Herron (Memphis, Tenn./Bevill State CC) and Elijah Gillis (Largo, Fla./Pensacola JC), both of whom are recovering from preseason knee injuries. Freshman Peter Connole (Orlando, Fla./Pine Castle Christian Academy) will round out the frontcourt, while junior transfer Marquis Mathis (Columbus, Ohio/Cincinnati State CC) will sit out the 2009-10 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
After an exhibition game at Division I South Alabama on Thursday, November 5 at 7:05 p.m., the Argonauts will tip off the regular season at home against Columbus State on Monday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m. UWF will play host to two regular season tournaments during the holiday season, and a single game at home against preseason No. 23 Delta State on December 13 will mark another highlight of the non-conference schedule. UWF will open GSC play at home against West Alabama on January 7. The conference schedule includes preseason No. 7 Valdosta State on the road on January 13 and at home on February 10.
“The schedule was set before I came on,” explained Stinnett. “(Assistant Coach) Wade Anderson made our schedule this year, and he says it’s the toughest we’ve had in five years. If you want to be good you’ve got to play the best, and that’s what we’ll try to do this year.”
The West Florida men’s and women’s basketball teams will meet with the local Pensacola media on Tuesday, November 3 for the 2009-10 UWF Basketball Media Day, and video, audio, and photos of the event will be available online after the event. UWF fans will be able to follow Argonaut basketball all season long with live coverage at www.GoArgos.com.
